Tag: eToro

eToro Stops Support for Long Non-Leveraged CFD Crypto Positions in Australia

Posted on by Adam Smith
etoro

In a significant shift in its service offerings, the online trading platform eToro has announced that it will cease supporting long non-leveraged CFD positions for cryptocurrencies in Australia. This change is set to take effect from February 19, 2024.

Following this date, eToro will automatically close any remaining open long non-leveraged CFD positions in cryptoassets at the prevailing market value. This decision marks a notable transition in the company's approach to crypto trading in the Australian market.

For users who wish to close their non-leveraged long CFD positions in cryptoassets before the February 19 deadline, eToro has offered a pathway. Clients can close their CFD positions and subsequently open equivalent positions in real cryptoassets. An added benefit for those making this switch is the absence of overnight fees, which are typically charged on CFD positions.

  • To ease the transition for its clients, eToro has introduced an incentive. The firm will credit the spread costs incurred when purchasing the real crypto position, up to the amount of the original trade size. This is conditional on the new trade opening within 30 minutes of closing the CFD position. The credited amount will be directly added to the user's account within eight business days.
  • The process for transitioning from CFD to real crypto positions involves several steps. Users must log into their eToro account, identify their non-leveraged long crypto asset positions marked with a red CFD symbol, close these positions, and immediately reopen equivalent trades as long positions with 1x leverage. These will then be considered real crypto positions. Any non-leveraged long cryptoasset positions held as CFDs that remain in an account on February 19 will be automatically closed.

eToro has cautioned that the amount invested in the reopened real crypto position can be changed, but the fee reimbursement will only cover up to the original trade size amount. The company has also reminded its clients that real crypto is a non-regulated product without investor protections.

Lastly, eToro highlighted the potential tax implications of these transactions. They have advised clients to consult with tax advisors for more information on how these changes might affect their tax obligations.

FCA Issues Alert on eToro Clone Scam

Posted on by Adam Smith
FCA Issues Aert on eToro Clone

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has recently issued a stern warning to the public about a fraudulent eToro clone mimicking the well-known online broker, eToro. This alert comes amid a rising tide of clone scams, where fraudulent entities exploit the data of authorised firms to deceive unsuspecting victims.

Clone scams typically use similar names, logos, and website addresses to those of legitimate firms, creating a deceptive appearance of authenticity. In this case, the clone operates under various names such as Expotoro, Tratoro, and PayBack Toro. Despite their convincing facade, these entities have no affiliation with the actual, authorised businesses.

Crucially, the clone has been actively reaching out to people, masquerading as the FCA-authorised eToro. Potential victims should be aware that dealing with the eToro clone involves significant risks. These include the lack of access to the Financial Ombudsman Service for complaints and the absence of protection by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). In the unfortunate event of the clone firm's collapse, there is a high likelihood that individuals will not recover their funds.

To help the public distinguish between the fraudulent clone and the legitimate entity, the FCA provided detailed information on both. The eToro clone firm operates with the telephone number +442030973333 and uses emails such as info@tratoro.com and info@pbtoro.com. Its websites are listed as https://expotoro.com/ and https://pbtoro.com/.

In contrast, the genuine eToro (UK) Ltd, with no connection to the clone firm, can be identified by its distinct Firm Reference Number 583263. Located at the 24th Floor of One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, their official contact details include the telephone number +4402045251189 and the email address complianceuk@etoro.com. Their legitimate website is www.etoro.com.

The FCA urges the public to exercise caution and verify the authenticity of any financial service provider before engaging in transactions. The FCA's warning serves as a critical reminder of the sophistication of financial scams and the importance of vigilance in the digital age.

Retail Investors Concerned About Domestic Economic Slowdown, eToro Survey Reveals

Posted on by Adam Smith
Domestic Economic Slowdown

In a recent quarterly survey conducted by eToro, it was found that the primary concern among retail investors revolves around the slowdown of their domestic economies. This worry surpassed fears related to inflation and the impact of geopolitical conflicts. The survey, which encompassed over 10,000 retail investors across 13 countries and three continents, shed light on the sentiments prevailing among investors in the second quarter of 2023. Notable participating countries included the UK, the US, Germany, France, and Australia.

Despite central banks raising interest rates to combat inflation, the global economies showcased resilience throughout the year. This resilience has contributed to the surge in stock prices. However, many retail investors no longer perceive a strong market opportunity. According to the survey report, retail investors are now preparing themselves for an impending slowdown. Various metrics employed by eToro to gauge investor confidence experienced declines during the quarter. Confidence regarding the portfolio, the global economy, and the domestic economy dropped by five percentage points, settling at 71%, 40%, and 45%, respectively. (Read our comprehensive review of eToro)

eToro highlighted that "the threat of a home market recession surged to become the biggest perceived risk among global retail investors (18%), while far fewer identified inflation (17%) or international conflict (12%) as the top risks."

Furthermore, eToro noted that while retail investors were quick to purchase stocks after the market hit bottom in October 2022, the majority are now adopting a contrarian approach. This means that most investors do not believe in the "bull market narrative." In fact, only 11% of the surveyed investors believe that the markets have entered another bullish period.

Explaining this shift in strategy, eToro stated that retail investors are employing a "two-pronged 'barbell strategy'" by continuing to invest in successful tech companies while also seeking opportunities in underperforming commodity and bank stocks.

Despite the prevailing concerns, the survey revealed that a significant number of retail investors (31%) increased their investment portfolios during the last quarter, with only 12% decreasing their investments. Moreover, 31% expressed intentions to allocate additional funds to their investments over the next three months. Conversely, approximately 11% of respondents planned to reduce the size of their portfolios during the same period.

The survey conducted by eToro provides valuable insights into the sentiments of retail investors, highlighting their apprehensions regarding the slowdown in domestic economies. As these concerns overshadow worries about inflation and geopolitical conflicts, investors are adjusting their investment strategies accordingly to navigate the changing market landscape.

ASIC Sues eToro Over High-Risk CFD Product

Posted on by Adam Smith
ASIC sues eToro

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has commenced Federal Court proceedings against online trading platform eToro, alleging breaches of design and distribution rules. The suit focuses on eToro's contract for difference (CFD) product, a high-risk leveraged derivatives contract that allows users to speculate on various underlying assets' price movements.

On August 3, ASIC announced that it was suing eToro for offering its CFD product to a broad market of retail investors without proper screening tests to exclude unsuitable customers. The regulator contends that eToro’s CFDs, which it describes as "high-risk and volatile," were marketed to an overly extensive customer base.

ASIC alleges that the platform's screening test was "very difficult to fail," allowing clients to change their answers without limitations and prompting them if they selected answers that could lead to disqualification. As a result, a large number of retail clients might have been exposed to a CFD product that was not aligned with their investment goals, financial situations, or needs, thereby increasing the risk of consumer harm.

Furthermore, ASIC disclosed that nearly 20,000 of eToro's clients lost money trading CFDs between October 5, 2021, and June 14, 2023. eToro's website itself acknowledges that 77% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with the platform.

"Our message to the industry is that CFD target markets should be narrowly defined given the significant risk that retail clients may lose all of their deposited funds," stated ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court. "CFD issuers must comply with the design and distribution regime and cannot simply reverse engineer their target markets to fit existing client bases."

ASIC alleges that eToro's CFD target market and its client screening process were insufficient, failing to properly filter out unsuitable customers. Additionally, the regulator accuses eToro of failing to ensure its financial services were provided efficiently, honestly, and fairly.

ASIC is seeking declarations and financial penalties from the Court. However, the date for the first case management hearing has yet to be scheduled.

Twitter Partners with eToro to Bring Stock and Cryptocurrency Trading to Users

Posted on by Adam Smith
Twitter Partners with eToro
Twitter Partners with eToro

Twitter is set to introduce a new feature in partnership with social trading company eToro that will allow users to access stocks, cryptocurrencies, and other financial assets directly through the platform. The integration will expand Twitter's existing cashtags feature and enable users to buy and sell assets via eToro.

Currently, Twitter users can view real-time trading data from TradingView on index funds like the S&P 500 and individual stocks such as Tesla using the platform's cashtags feature. By entering a ticker symbol preceded by a dollar sign, users can access price information from TradingView via an API.

The collaboration with eToro will expand Twitter's cashtags to cover a wider range of financial instruments and asset classes. Users will also be able to click a "view on eToro" button that redirects them to eToro's site, where they can then trade assets on the platform. eToro uses TradingView as its market data partner.

  • Yoni Assia, eToro's CEO, highlighted the growth of his company and its users' increasing interactions on Twitter. He believes the partnership will help eToro tap into new audiences and strengthen the connection between the Twitter and eToro brands.
  • This partnership marks a significant business deal for Twitter since Elon Musk took over as CEO after acquiring the platform for $44 billion last year. Under Musk's leadership, Twitter has reduced its headcount from 8,000 to 1,500 to cut costs and achieve profitability. However, this move has also caused concerns among advertisers about potential lapses in content moderation standards.

Despite Musk's recent announcement that "almost all" advertisers had returned to the platform, companies like Stellantis and Volkswagen have yet to resume advertising on Twitter. Assia confirmed that the same Twitter team responsible for the stock market data tool collaborated on previous partnerships with eToro.

Founded in 2007, eToro is an online brokerage that allows users to trade stocks, cryptocurrencies, and index funds. The platform has over 32 million registered users across Europe, Asia, and the United States and is known for its feature that lets users mimic the trading strategies of other users.

Read our comprehensive review on eToro or visit eToro's website etoro.com

eToro reduces fee for withdrawal to 5$

Posted on by John Porter

So we start with great news from one of the largest and very popular social trading broker eToro that delivers thousands of opportunities to invest, trade, copy or to be copied.

While eToro itself is a well-regulated, widely known and one of the biggest social trading communities, there were some cons on its offering. One of the serious once was a flat fee of 25$ for each withdrawal, which was quite high and often confusing for many traders.

And now announced eToro reduces fee for withdrawal by as much as 80%. Instead of 25$ now you will be charged a fee of just 5$ for withdrawals.

eToro reduces fee for withdrawal to 5$
eToro reduce withdrawal fee

eToro reduces fee

In addition, eToro improves Withdrawal Dashboard and its informative text, where each withdrawal status and relevant links are provided. You may easily now check the breakdown of your payment, verify status, withdrawal fee information, cancel option and other relevant actions for smooth withdrawals. Read more at the source by the link.

So overall, we are also excited to hear great news about cost reduction from eToro payment, and what a great reduction, withdrawal is 5 times less expensive now. This act proves eToro strives to be a “human broker” and constantly strive to be better, so it definitely improves trading conditions for existing clients. And most likely will attract even more world traders to its already large bench.

eToro reduces fee
eToro lower fees

eToro social trading

In fact, eToro is not only an investing platform that gives numerous trading or investment opportunities to global traders. But also offers great access to the assets together with commission-free stocks, competitive pricing and some of the unique portfolios so traders of different levels of experience are most welcome.

Nevertheless, you may read full eToro Review by the link and learn about their general offering in a detail or read other traders comments. Also, check other CySEC regulated brokers for your consideration and remember always to choose the regulated broker for your safe experience.

eToro Introduces SocialSentiment Portfolio, Giving Retail Traders Access to ESG Companies

Posted on by Adam Smith

eToro, a leading global investment platform, has launched a new portfolio, SocialSentiment, that provides retail traders with exposure to US firms with solid ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) performance and high levels of positive social chatter.

eToro Introduces SocialSentiment Portfolio
eToro

eToro introduces SocialSentiment portfolio in partnership with Sentifi, an alternative data provider, that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to analyze more than 50,000 stocks, currencies, commodities, indices, passive and active funds, and social sentiment (sentScore) and ESG scores to shape the portfolio. Sentiment towards an asset is established by analyzing over 500 million tweets, 2 million news articles, forums, and blogs, resulting in a selection of US stocks with high ESG credentials and positive social chatter.

The allocation of the top 10 S&P 500 stocks meeting the ESG and social sentiment criteria is rebalanced monthly and ranked by their lowest risk over attention-weighted sentiment score (AWSS). The portfolio offers retail traders a unique opportunity to invest in firms that are positively discussed on social and digital channels, adding an extra layer of insights.

  • Dani Brinker, Head of Investment Portfolios at eToro, said that the SocialSentiment portfolio builds on eToro's pioneering social investing, showing how social media can empower people worldwide to build their wealth and take control of their finances. Brinker added that eToro is looking forward to partnering with Sentifi and harnessing the power of social networks.
  • Marina Goche, CEO at Sentifi, said that social networks, news, blogs, and forums are valuable sources of changing risk for asset classes, offering dynamic views on ESG performance and the construction of portfolios that outperform a benchmark. Goche added that Sentifi is delighted to partner with eToro to offer the SocialSentiment portfolio.

The newly launched SocialSentiment portfolio is part of eToro's range of Smart Portfolios, offering investors diversified exposure to various market themes. The Smart Portfolios are a long-term investment solution, bundling together several assets under a defined methodology and employing a passive investment approach with no management fees. Each portfolio requires an initial investment starting from USD $500.

Retail traders can track the portfolio's performance through tools and charts while staying up-to-date with sector developments through eToro's social feed. However, the SocialSentiment portfolio developed in partnership with Sentifi is currently unavailable to US users.

Overall, the launch of the SocialSentiment portfolio is a positive development for retail traders, enabling them to invest in firms that align with their values and have positive social sentiment.

For more information, visit eToro's official website - etoro.com